A packed weekend of racing with Scotland's best mountain bikers heading down to Wales for the British Series, while the best young talent was racing at Oulton Park for the Youth Circuit Series, with plenty of action on the continent as well.
British MTB Series
Round 2 of the British Mountain Bike Series, took place at Margam Country Park in South Wales, with a number of Scots making their way down the M74 and M6 for the weekend of racing.
In the women’s elite field, there were five Scots in the top ten; Elena McGorum (Peebles CC) was the best of the bunch with a strong ride to third place, on the course which was less technical than last time out in Tong Village.
Jo Thom also scored a top five finish, with the TORQ Performance rider finishing a minute ahead of Kim Baptista (Ayr Roads CC) in sixth, with Jane Barr (Velocity 44) seventh, and Anna McGorum (Peebles CC) ninth – an impressive showing.
Not to be outdone, three Scots finished on the podium of the men’s elite race, with Cameron Mason (Trinity Racing) riding to second place, while Rory McGuire (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) pipped Grant Ferguson (Hope Factory Racing) for fourth place.
In the Juniors, Daisy Taylor (Royal Albert CC) continued her top form by claiming victory, another classy ride, whilst Reuben Oakley took silver in the junior men’s race. Innes McDonald (Scotia Off Road Team) rode to a strong third place in the Youth Boys, while in the Juveniles category there was a brace of victories for Oliva Poole (Deeside Thistle) and Gus Lawson (Pentland Racers).
Scottish Student Sport Crit Champs
Fife Cycle Park played host to the Scottish Student Sport Circuit Championships on Sunday, with Scotland’s best students in action.
In the men’s race, a four-man move of Tim Shoreman (Heriott-Watt), Craig Paterson (Glasgow), Louis Moore (Edinburgh) and Sam Carrotte (Aberdeen) went away and some excellent disruption from the Edinburgh team ensured that they wouldn’t be caught by the chasing bunch. It was Moore who sprinted to the victory, with Shoreman taking the silver medal and Paterson in third.
The women’s race saw a more attritional style of racing, with a field being whittled down every lap, rather than a move sticking. The final sprint to the line saw Coralie Arthur (Le Col-Wahoo) take the victory from Alba Development RT’s Evie White, who looked strong throughout, with Amy Gornall (Pro-Noxtiss) in third.
In the race for the Student Championship, Isla Long (Aberdeen) did enough to beat Mhairi Rodger (St Andrews) for the gold medal, with Miriam Gilbride (Glasgow) winning the bronze medal.
While in the open men’s support race, there was an excellent sprint from Corey Whiteford (Flanders-Colours) on his return from Belgium to take the victory.
British Youth Circuit Series
Oulton Park in Cheshire played host to the latest round of the British Youth Circuit Series with a number of Scots in action.
In the Youth A girls, Kayla Dinnen (Dumfries CC) won out with the former triathlete riding solo on the final lap to take the victory. Behind, Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle) finished third and Erin Boothman (East Kilbride) was in fifth place, with both girls riding very aggressively throughout.
In the Youth B girls, the Deeside duo of Zara Main and Melanie Rowe came home in fifth and tenth, respectively. While in the Youth A boys Struan Shaw (Edinburgh RC) finished in seventh place.
Belgium
In Gent, there was a UCI Class 1 Track meet over the weekend with a number of Scots in action.
Triple Scottish national champion Niall Monks (Glasgow Track RC) had a strong weekend, taking a fifth place in the Men’s Keirin and an eighth-place finish in the sprint, while teammate Lyall Craig finished in 12th and 11th respectively.
Kate Richardson was in action in the endurance events, with an eighth place finish in the Omnium, a tenth place in the Points Race, and 15th in the Scratch Race.
Staying in Belgium, there was a great second place by Ciaran Mc Sherry (The Cycling Academy) at the Elite kermesse in Herfelingen on Saturday. Also on the road, Mark Stewart (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) finished 41st at De Brabanste Pijl Classic (1.Pro) on Wednesday.
France
The Anexo Group RT were in strong form at the prestigious junior stage race Penn Ar Bed-Pays d'Iroise in Britanny. Scots duo of Joe Cosgrove and Ahron Dick were right in the thick of the action over the three stages.
Cosgrove was in the vital move on Stage 1 and finished in fourth place, before a following that up with another fourth place finish in Stage 2 Time Trial, which was enough to give the Scottish rider the leaders’ jersey heading into the final stage. The final stage saw Ahron Dick finish in the top ten with Cosgrove finishing in the pack, just missing out on the overall victory. However, a strong fifth and eleventh for Cosgrove and Dick respectively in the overall standings is a very strong showing for the first-year juniors against a top-quality field in Bretagne.
Adam Mitchell (Team U Charente Maritime) has been on fire in the French National Elite races in recent weeks with a number of top results. This week was no different with a third place at the Grand Prix du Pays de Besse, his seventh podium in a row this month.
The Week Ahead
There’s plenty of action to look forward to this week, with Calum Johnson (Caja Rural) making his return to racing at the Tour of the Alps on the road.
Domestically, the opening round of the Scotia and Alba Road Race series takes place in Ayrshire with the Straiton Struggle (Enter Here) and the second round of the SXC Series at Nevis Range (Enter Here).
Meanwhile the Scottish Cycling Performance squads are also in action with a men’s road team taking on the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic and a four-rider MTB development squad heading to the continent for some UCI racing as well.
Finally the first round of the Para-Cycling World Cup and the latest round of UCI Track Nations Cup will take place Thursday to Sunday, where a number of Scots will be in action for the respective Great Britain squads.
